Defining "Good"

Starcraft is not a game for everyone.  It has a steep learning curve, it requires a ton of focus, and there's a strong emphasis on 1v1 play.  Because of this, losses can feel deeply personal and even rage-inducingly humiliating - to the point where it makes people just not want to play the game.  I even took a year off after losing to one too many Protoss deathballs/4gates.  But in the end, I just couldn't stay away.

A lot of the people who stick around - or who leave and come back - want to get better at the game.  They reach out to friends, clanmates, pros, YouTube, TeamLiquid, /r/starcraft, IMBABuilds, and as many resources as they can find to help them to be "good" at Starcraft.  And since you are currently reading a post on a site about the mental side of Starcraft and personal improvement, I think it's safe to say that you are one of those people.

The first step on this path, however, is not to learn some fancy build that you saw in the GSL, it's not to increase your APM, and it's not to track your MMR so that you know when to expect your next league promotion.  Heck, the first step doesn't even require you to open your game client or even be anywhere near a computer!

The first thing that you need to do in order to be "good" at Starcraft is to define what "good" means for you.  

Every player has a different definition of what it means to be good at Starcraft.  It's the reason that a Gold League player might look at a Master League player in awe, while the same Master League player feels like they're still "terrible".  It's the reason that you hear people arguing over whether consistency, tournament wins, or league rankings determine who the best players are.  It's why someone will accuse a player of being bad for cheesing, while someone else will accuse a player of being bad for losing to cheese.

If you want to be "good" at this game - and if you want to get better as efficiently as possible - you need to know what good means to you.  Different definitions lead to different approaches and foci.  Defining "good" leads to fewer distractions and periods of stagnation.  Knowing what your "good" is must be the first step on the path to getting there!

There's a lot more to be said about this topic in the future.  In fact, tomorrow's post will focus on the problem with defining "good" as being in the Master League or above.  But for today - think about what it means to you to be good at Starcraft and whether the way you approach the game is helping or hurting your progress towards your goal.